


You Have Reached

by visiblemarket



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Coulson Lives, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, be aware, dialogue mostly, not that clint knows it so
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-31
Updated: 2014-03-31
Packaged: 2018-01-17 11:48:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1386526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/visiblemarket/pseuds/visiblemarket
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>You've reached Agent Coulson. If this is an emergency, please dial 703-457-0623. If not, please leave a message.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Have Reached

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a prompt on avengerkink, which can be found below.

**[You've reached Agent Coulson. If this is an emergency, please dial 703-457-0623. If not, please leave a message.]**

_You have [14] new messages!_

1\. "Heeeeeey," slurred, half-asleep, distant. "Hey, it's me. I just—I wanted to—" a sharp, gasping breath. "Oh. Oh, _shit_ , I—" a bleep, and he's gone.

2\. Dead air. Dead air, a couple of sharp, shallow, breaths, the sound of something getting hurled against the wall, and then silence. 

3\. "It's me. I know you can't—fuck, I _know_ , it's just—" there's a sigh, tight and frustrated. "Screw it. This is fucking _stupid_ , you can't even— _fuck_." 

4\. "Damn, boss, it's been one hell of a day," he laughs, almost-normal, if still a little desperate. "I'm on fucking _desk duty_ , can you imagine? Fury's got me goin' through AARs till I 'man the fuck up and get my sorry ass to a shrink', so I guess it'll be a while. Just wanted to—" a brittle, sardonic chuckle. "Apologize, I guess. Shouldn't have given you such a hard time about the paper work. Guess it wouldn't have killed me to—" there's a pause, and his voice wavers when he speaks again. "Wouldn't've killed me to type shit out once in a while." 

5\. "Hey, man. Ran into Agent May today. Asked me if I wanted to talk, I swear to god. Had to ask her if she was feelin' okay after that one. But she looks good, sir. Think she wanted to…think she wanted me to tell you she said hi, but screw it, right? She's got your number, she can call you up, same as me, if she wants to…anyway. Talk to you later, boss."

6\. "God-fucking- _dammit_ , Coulson."

7\. "Nat's gonna be out of town for a couple of days," he's obviously not overjoyed at the prospect, and he's trying very hard to hide it. "She's been helping Steve out a little. Hanging out and stuff. I know you'd want me to…know you'd want me to be friendly. Like I've ever been fucking _friendly_ in my life, but I know you'd want—look, boss, thing is, guy that nice? Guy that perfect? He's gotta be an asshole, right? Just the way things are. You do know that, don't you, sir?"

8\. "Steve's not an asshole, sir. Sorry I said that. Have a good night."

9\. "Y'know what, _Agent Coulson_? It IS a fucking emergency, and callin' up _Blake_ or whatever dumbshit washout they've got manning the night desk these days isn't going to do me any fucking good. How could you be such a fucking _idiot_ , Coulson? Who the _hell_ did you think you were? Like you're some stone-cold untouchable _badass_ , or something. What a crock of total bull, sir. You wanna know what I spent my day doin'? Watching the damn footage. Not that Fury'd fucking give it to me, I had to go and get it from Tony fucking Stark. _God_ , Coulson, how could you be so incredibly _stupid_? How could you—" something heavy clatters to the floor in the distance, and Clint sighs. "Dammit, Phil," he says, voice weak and raw, like he's been screaming. "You're such an asshole." The message ends. 

10\. "I'm seein' someone. No, shit, not like that, sir. Though I guess you wouldn't fucking care. Anyway. Haven't told her about this. Don't want her tellin' me I should stop, I guess. I know I should, one of these days. Whoever's listenin' to all this shit, I know he’s—I'm sorry you had to—I'm gonna cut it out. Real soon, I promise."

11\. "It's 3 A.M. over here," he says, and his tone, drowsy and caught in a yawn, reflects it. "Can't sleep. Can't ever fucking sleep, not lately. I'm always afraid I'm gonna wake up and be back with—" there's a slow, steadying breath. "With him. I hear Dr. Selvig's goin' through some shit. Think I should call him? Guess misery does love company, after all. But I don't know, boss. Don't know if I can look at him again. Wish you'd tell me what you think once in a while, sir. 'Talk to me, Coulson'," he laughs, sharp and wounded. "I know, that's stupid. I just—good night, boss."

12\. "Don't know where I am." The words are only slightly slurred, but then Clint was always good at hiding how drunk he was. "Don't know where Nat is, or Steve. Or Stark. Or Banner. Or Coulson." A watery, choked laugh this time. "Don't know where you are, sir. Really wish you'd call me back, Phil. I'm startin' to think I'm not your favorite, anymore." There's a pause, and a sigh, and he hangs up again. 

13\. "Guess we never talked about that day, did we? Damn, boss, but you shoulda seen it. Nat kicked so much ass, like you wouldn't believe, 'cept you know Nat, so I guess you would. Still, though. She's fuckin' amazing, I never get tired of watching her, I know you never...Cap's everything you said he was, more than. Poor kid's so damn nice, so damn smart, he'd have loved you. I bet you think you—I know you think you blew it, meeting him, but trust me, he'd have loved gettin' to know you. And Stark, man, you were so right about Stark. Guy'll come through in a crunch and he'll fucking shine. Think he misses you. You know Stark, he'd never say it, but— _I_ miss you. I fucking miss you, Coulson. You'd have been so damn proud of us, 'cause you're such a sap, but—I'm so fucking proud of _you_ , I miss you, and I'm sorry. Guess I just wanted you to—know, okay?" 

14\. "Oh, and Banner, right. Did you ever meet Banner? He's a fuckin' sweetheart, and one hell of a cook. He'd have liked you, too, sir. Everyone fucking liked you so much, I hope you—" a loud swallow. "Okay, boss. I gotta go, but I'll talk to you later."

**[We're sorry; you have reached a number that has been disconnected or is no longer in service. If you feel you have reached this recording in error, please check the number and try your call again.]**

**Author's Note:**

> __  
> [Following the events of New York, Clint is having trouble dealing with the aftermath - Coulson's death especially. One day he calls Coulson, forgetting that he's dead, and gets Coulson's voicemail. It turns out that SHIELD hasn't gotten around to disconnecting Coulson's phone number just yet. Clint starts calling "Coulson" as often as he can, about every little detail about what's going on with his life, so he can have a few minutes where he can pretend that Coulson's not dead. (What Clint doesn't know is that Coulson's very much alive - and listens to all his messages)](http://avengerkink.livejournal.com/18271.html?thread=43131999#t43131999)   
> 


End file.
